The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential occupants of that position in American history. Although many second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced then and I hold that view today."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a document outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his hole? That is a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the company grew from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
